iPhone

Whether browsing through the latest technology news, following the exploits of your favorite musician or film star or looking up exotic holiday destinations, chances are you will bump into a language that's not your own. Thanks to online translation services, most of us can usually get the gist of what's going on, but there are occasions when typing a word into a translation box is just not convenient. Penpower Technology has an alternative solution in the form of an application that uses the camera on the iPhone and Google's translation service to offer instant word translation and definition. Read More

If you own an iPhone or 3G iPad running iOS4, then you might be interested in knowing that the device has been keeping a record of your travels in a hidden, unencrypted file. Users do not opt into using the service, the database is restored after backups, and it migrates onto other synced devices. While no one is necessarily accusing Big Brother Jobs of watching you, it is a curious feature, and one that could pose a security threat to some users. Read More

We've seen optical add-ons for the iPhone before, but the OWLE Bubo takes a slightly more holistic approach to giving the smartphone's video capture capabilities a boost. The Bubo is a hand-held video rig carved out of a block of billet aluminum that provides handgrips for increased stability, multiple tripod mounting points, a sensitive microphone and a wide angle glass lens. Read More

It’s perhaps inevitable that as video gaming technology advances, some of us may start to long for the simpler nuts-and-bolts arcade games of our youth. Well, they never got much nuttier and boltier than pinball, and the new Pinball Magic “(app)cessory” allows you to transform your iPhone or iPod touch into a digital version of just such a machine – complete with its own functional iDevice-sized cabinet. Just fire it up, turn up the Buddy Holly, Jefferson Airplane or Joan Jett, then pretend you’re back in the days of broken curfews and wedgies. Read More

It's all very well and good that iPhones can give you directions, let you surf the web, and do about a thousand other things, but what if you want to get a close look at something really tiny? Well, the phone can't help you with that on its own, but it can if you equip it with the Mini Microscope for iPhone. Like the University of California, Davis' more clinical CellScope, it mounts over the lens of the phone's camera. Once in place, you can use it to inspect your thumb, get to know the insects in your neighborhood, or even to detect counterfeit currency. Read More

It’s humbling, and in fact almost a little scary, when you realize just how far the video quality of mobile phones and pocket camcorders has progressed over the past few years. While features such as their resolution are truly something to behold, they do however have one distinct disadvantage when compared to their larger, heavier predecessors – they shake like crazy. It’s a shortcoming that’s addressed by the Steadicam Smoothee. Read More

While LG might be best known for its consumer electronics products, the South Korean conglomerate has plenty of strings to its bow with around 40 subsidiary companies in areas including electronics, telecommunications and chemicals. One such subsidiary is LG Hausys, which is Korea's biggest building and decorative material company. Its products include a solid surface material called HI-MACS and to demonstrate the "limitless design possibilities" of the material, LG Hausys teamed up with Korean architect Shi-hyung Jeon to create Horn, a hand-made iPod speaker dock featuring the smooth, curved shape from which it gets its name. Read More

Last year we told you about a product called the Phone x Phone, which is an iPhone dock that essentially turns your mobile into a desktop phone. Well, while it has a decidedly 70s retro appeal, the Phone x Phone now has some competition in the form of the sleek and modern-looking iClooly Handset and Sync Stand. You just lay your iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G, or Android phone with a 3.5 mm headphone jack into the stand, plug in the landline-style handset, and pretend that cell phones were never invented. Read More

An essential part of my travel kit is my digital music player. I also carry a small set of speakers in case I want to share some tunes with those I meet along the way, but I'm forever having to worry about batteries and, despite their size, it's all extra weight to have to lug around. I need some fold-away, lightweight, power-free amplification, and that's precisely what the Tembo Trunks speakers offer. The creation of brothers Scott and Mike Norrie, the horn speakers are said to have been born out of frustration in not having an external iPod speaker that was small and light enough to travel with them around Africa. Read More

Personally, the most interesting part of the announcement of the new iPad on March 2 was GarageBand for iPad. Sure, the cool-looking drum kit and dynamic piano are worth a passing mention but my weapon of choice is the guitar. But rather than tap onto the touchscreen's virtual instrument I would prefer to plug in my own. The new JAM input from Apogee will allow me to do just that. Read More